A Merger Between Air France-klm And Alitalia?

France takes aim at Amazon to protect local bookshops

1) . That comes as Alitalia which has history that is perhaps best known for a seemingly endless cycle of financial emergencies enters a new round of turbulence that has it looking for ways to raise cash. Alitalia’s deteriorating balance sheets have prompted speculation that partner Air France-KLM which already has a 25% stake in the carrier could come to the rescue. RELATED: A familiar place: Alitalia back to the financial brink As for the reports raising the possibility of a merger, one is one from Reuters . The news agency writes “Air France-KLM said on Tuesday it was open to merging with Alitalia in a move seen as the best solution for turning around the loss-making Italian airline.” Dow Jones Newswires ran a similar report , noting one key Alitalia shareholder views Air France-KLM “as a good candidate to take control of the carrier, (though) he said the ultimate decision lay with the (Italian) government.” “(Air France-KLM) is a good buyer,” Gilberto Benetton is quoted by Dow Jones as saying to reporters at the Milan exchange. However, Benetton says the Italian government would have to have a say and that Air France-KLM would have to detail what it would do with Alitalia in a merger. “If the government doesn’t sit at the table with Air France-KLM … the danger is that Italy as a country becomes a region,” he’s quoted as saying be Dow Jones . “This must be avoided at all costs.” Dow Jones writes Benetton’s family, whose holdings include the eponymous retail chain, is “among a group of Italian financiers and industrialists that came to the rescue of Alitalia five years ago to stop the airline from being bought by Air France-KLM, which nevertheless owns a 25% stake.” However, Air France-KLM CEO Alexandre de Juniac indicates any move his company may make regarding Alitalia will be deliberate. “Our conditions for helping Alitalia are very strict. If the conditions are met, I am ready to go ahead,” Air France-KLM chief executive de Juniac is quoted by Reuters as saying to the French newspaper Les Echos. He did not specify what those conditions might be. But whether Air France-KLM considers a merger or simply tries to increase its stake in its SkyTeam partner, overcoming Italian concerns could be key. REUTERS: Air France-KLM may help Alitalia under conditions: report Reuters says such concerns will likely center on whether “any Air France-KLM investment would clash with Italy’s ambition to make Rome a hub for intercontinental flights, and instead turn Alitalia into a regional player and trigger job cuts.” “Air France-KLM-Alitalia, if one day we are united, could become a very great European brand,” de Juniac says in comments that could help assuage such fear.

Air France-KLM Likely to Make Profit in 2013 — Chief Executive

6, 2013, near Cleebourg eastern France. Both men were not injured. (AP Photo/Christian Lutz)The Associated Press STRASBOURG, France Sebastien Ogier celebrated his world title by winning the Rally France on Sunday while nine-time world champion Sebastien Loeb’s last race ended in a crash. Ogier took the overall lead by winning the three morning stages before containing his rivals in the three afternoon stages. The Frenchman clinched the world title on Thursday when Thierry Neuville of Belgium failed to win the power stage. Ogier finished the race 12.2 seconds ahead of Dani Sordo of Spain. Jari-Matti Latvala of Finland took third place, 19.5 seconds off the pace. Thierry Neuville of Belgium placed fourth, more than a minute behind Ogier. In the rain-soaked stage 15, Loeb’s Citroen DS3 slid wide on a corner and rolled before landing on its roof. The French driver was not injured in the crash.

Sebastien Ogier celebrates world title by winning Rally France; Loeb’s last race ends in crash

Seperate multiple addresses with Commas. Must enter an email address. You must enter the verification code below to send. Invalid entry: Please type the verification code again. October 7, 2013, 3:19 a.m. ET Air France-KLM Likely to Make Profit in 2013 — Chief Executive Text By Inti Landauro PARIS–Franco-Dutch airline Air France-KLM (AF.FR) is likely to turn a profit in 2013 as a result of recent restructuring programs, its Chief Executive Alexandre de Juniac said Monday. “[French unit] Air France will make profit in 2014 and Air France-KLM is likely to make profit as soon as 2013,” Mr. de Juniac said in an interview with local radio station Europe1. “This will the means us to develop and open new routes.” The airline will begin flying to several cities in Latin America, Asia and Africa, including Panama and Brasilia, he said. The company has carried out a series of job cut programs over the past couple of years as part of a company-wide restructuring effort aimed at cutting about 2 billion euros ($2.7 billion) in annual costs by 2015. It is facing with rising competition from low-cost airlines in the short- and medium-haul European market and from Middle Eastern airlines such as Emirates Airlines. Mr.

The law is part of France’s broader regulation of book prices and curbs on discounting, which was passed in 1981 by the Socialist government at the time to protect small bookshops from supermarket chains. In the past decade, online outlets have challenged physical bookstores, prompting French publishers to lobby for a change in the law to stop what they call Amazon’s “dumping” and “unfair competition”. According to a French parliamentary report, online book sales rose to 13.1 percent of total book sales in 2011 from 3.2 percent in 2003. The country is still home to more bookstores than most countries with 2,000-2,500 in a country of 65 million people, compared with 1,000 in Britain, which has roughly the same-sized population. “The (book pricing) law is part of our cultural heritage,” said conservative lawmaker Christian Kert who sponsored the bill. France’s lower chamber, with the support of the Socialist government, passed the law unanimously. It will now go to the Senate, which is expected to pass it by the end of the year. For its part, Amazon said the law would have the perverse effect of hurting sales of books from the back catalogue and from smaller publishing houses, which were often bought online. “All measures that aim to raise the price of books sold online will curb the ability of French people to buy cultural works and discriminates against those who buy online,” it said. The proposed law is only the latest example of France taking aim at U.S.-based Internet giants. Last week the country’s data protection watchdog moved closer to fining Google for the way it stores and tracks user information after the search engine ignored a three-month ultimatum to bring its practices in line with local law. France has called on the European Union to regulate global Internet companies such as Google, Amazon and Facebook more aggressively, to counter their growing dominance of online commerce and services. It is pushing within the OECD and G20 organizations to tighten tax rules to make sure that Internet companies cannot avoid tax by locating their headquarters in low-cost EU countries. Amazon and Google are subject of ongoing tax audits in France.

France: The Med cannot be an open-air cemetery

“It really is an embarrassment. It is not enough to be outraged, we mustback that up with resources,” he said. “Everyone recognises that Frontex isnot the size that it should be.” Don’t miss… X Your comments about this article: The comments below have not been moderated in advance and are not produced by The Local unless clearly stated. Readers are responsible for the content of their own comments. Comments that breach our terms and conditions will be removed. Today’s headlines Four former Seventh Day Adventists are accused of exorcising a teenager, tying her up in the position of Christ on the cross and keeping her bound to a mattress for seven days. Photo: Roberto Quijano A group of former members of the Seventh Day Adventist Church went on trial on Monday in France, charged with torturing a 19-year-old woman during a shockingly violent crucifixion-style exorcism which lasted seven days. READ ( ) Bettencourt affair Judges ‘drop’ abuse charges against Sarkozy Reports in France on Monday claimed that corruption charges against former President Nicolas Sarkozy relating to allegations he accepted campaign funding from Liliane Bettencourt when she was frail, have been dropped by French judges. READ ( ) National Front leader Marine Le Pen greets crowds on October 6th. An FN candidate left France’s political mainstream reeling with a by-election performance on Sunday. Photo: Francois Nascimbeni/AFP Far right stuns France in by-election vote France’s political establishment was left reeling on Monday after two far-right candidates almost claimed 50 percent of votes in a by-election. A Socialist government spokesman called it a “warning shot” ahead of upcoming municipal elections. READ ( ) Paris and the Eiffel Tower have been toppled by London and The Shard in the “World’s Best City” index. Photos: Awsheffield/Flickr and Tom Godber London dethrones Paris as ‘world’s best city’ Paris has lost its crown as the “best city in the world”, a new global survey revealed this week.